1. Technical Field
This invention generally relates to medical devices and, more specifically, to an improved wound retractor providing ease of incremental retraction and alignment to fit a wide range of incision sizes, including audible and tactile feedback to the user.
2. Description of the Related Art
Surgery typically involves making an incision large enough to accommodate a surgeon's hand and/or multiple instruments. The incision must be kept clean since it is susceptible to infection if touched by diseased body parts and/or contaminated instruments. As such, wound protectors are available to insure that exposed sides of an incision are covered and protected from contaminants. A common deficiency of wound protectors is their lack of ease of retraction adjustability and stability. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,524,644 and 6,382,211, both to Crook, attempt to address this deficiency with a wound protector including an outer ring having an oblate cross-section and opposed flat surfaces that allegedly provide retraction adjustability and stability. The oblate design of the outer ring of Crook, however, provides only limited incremental retraction and can be difficult to twist or turn. In addition, the Crook design does not provide for an audible feedback to the user. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved wound retractor that can be easily retracted to fit a wide range of incision sizes. The improved wound retractor preferably provides audible and/or tactile feedback to the user during retraction.